History of SLU/SLP/SLI & SLW in CIL

 

Provisions of employment & Monetary Compensation under NCWA – A need for revisit

 

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IL and its Subsidiaries, through implementation of various social security/welfare schemes and policies, have been indulged from the very beginning in protecting the interests of its employees and stakeholders for their socio-economic sustenance. One of such schemes is NCWA (National Coal Wage Agreement), which is formulated in virtue of the bipartite negotiation between the management and the Unions under the concept of collective bargaining and at present, NCWA-X (01-07-2016 - 30-06-2021) is prevalent in CIL and its subsidiaries. Under the Social Security chapter of NCWA, several benefits are afforded to employees including the provisions for compassionate employment/monetary compensation to the eligible dependent of employees dying out in harness, due to mine accidents or being declared as medically unfit. The primary purpose of such social security scheme is to sustain the bereaved family for their subsistence during the hardship and to succor them during the hours of need.

The definition of dependent for the purpose of regulating the provision of compassionate employment/monetary compensation was introduced and elaborated in para-9:5:0 of NCWA-V and the same was implemented vide I.I. No.-08 issued on 22-02-1996 wherein the definition of dependents was classified as:

Direct Dependent  : Wife/Husband (as the case may be), unmarried daughter, son & legally adopted son.

Indirect Dependent: Younger brother, widowed daughter, widowed daughter-in-law or son-in-law residing with the employee and wholly dependent upon the earnings of the employee.

Further, the provision of monthly monetary compensation in lieu of employment to the female dependent with keeping the name of one male dependent of 15 years and above age in live roster till his attainment of 18 years of age in order to be eligible for employment, was also introduced vide above I.I. No-08 of NCWA-V. The age of the male dependent to be kept in live roster was further reduced to 12 years or more in NCWA-VI.

During the effective period of NCWA-V (01-07-1991 - 30-06-1996), the socio-economic culture in the territory was prominently masculine oriented and in order to keep the manpower suited in line with the requirement of mining industry, such arrangement for the purpose of providing compassionate employment/monetary compensation to the dependent of employee was practicably taken into consideration at that time which was made to be continued in subsequent NCWAs and, is still continuing in NCWA-X at present.

But, with the surge in all round development activities in the country specially during post millennium decades, the socio-economic culture and the overall thought process drastically revamped with sea-changes in the field of technology, governance, education system, labour legislations and of course judiciary, which has set such a stage where the scope and coverage of various services, benefits and relaxation has commensurately redefined in the country for the benefit of people and society at large. People have become vigilant towards their rights and interests and now they don’t hesitate to approach to judiciary for getting the things happened legally in their favour,

Contemporarily, the above socio-economic advancement, inter-alia, impacted the industrial democracy in the country including CIL and Subsidiary as well which could be witnessed and construed by various recent judgments passed by judicial forums against the extant provisions of NCWA prevalent in CIL and subsidiaries, wherein on various occasions, the scope and coverage of the definition of dependents and quantum of benefits, has been questioned in argument to the extent of treating the same violating the constitutional provisions and principles of gender equality. The rigorous view of the judiciary expressed in such recent judgments has progressively weakened the plea of the management in contesting tantamount cases and defending the applicability of rules/provisions in vogue.

The above state of affair can be well taken into comprehension by going through some of the key judgments/orders passed contrary to the provisions of NCWA, which are tabulated below:

S.N.	Case No. & details	Intervening provision of NCWA
1	W.P(s) No. 4994/2015, Smt. Asha Pandey W/o Lt. Anil Pandey Vs. CIL/SECL Chhattishgarh High Court	Scope and coverage of the definition of dependents for employment requiring inclusion of Married daughter.
2	W.P(s) No. 3273/2018, Smt. Jirwa Ghatwarin Vs. BCCL & Ors. Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi	Introduction of new clause incorporating suitable period after lapse of which compassionate employment cannot be granted.
3	W.P(s) No. 4712/2018, Smt. Mamni Pradhan D/o Lt. Sudama Vs. SECL & Ors.  Chhattishgarh High Court	Provision of keeping the dependents’ name in live roster requiring female dependent of 12 years and above age too to be kept in live roster to promote the concept of Gender Equality.
4	Case of Smt. Sunita Devi D/o Late Basdeo Rajak, Ex-employee of Sijua Area          Dated: 05-10-2021 National Commissioner for SC, New Delhi	Provision of keeping the dependents’ name in live roster requiring daughters’ name of 12 years and above age too to be kept in live roster to promote the concept of Gender Equality.
5	WP(s) No. 5046 of 2009 Rekha Kumari Vs. BCCL & Ors. Dt. 02-01-2012  Hon’ble High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi	Provision of keeping the dependents’ name in live roster requiring daughters’ name of 12 years and above age too to be kept in live roster to promote the concept of Gender Equality.
6	W.P(s) No.5456 of 2017, Ms. Rubi Sinha D/o Lt. Kishori Lal Vs. BCCL & Ors. Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi	Scope & Coverage of the definition of dependents for employment- Inclusion of married daughter.
7	L.P.A. No. 617/2017, Madhubala Sinha Vs. CCL & Ors. Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi	Scope & Coverage of the definition of dependents for employment- Inclusion of mother and sister as indirect dependent.
8	W.P(s) No. 5541/2020, Chitra D/o Lt. Dattatray Vs. SECL & Ors. Chhattishgarh High Court	Scope & Coverage of the definition of dependents for employment - Inclusion of married daughter.
9	W.P(s) No. 5935/2021, Vijaya Kumari W/o Lt. Rajendran Nair Vs. SECL & Ors. Chhattishgarh High Court	Scope & Coverage of the definition of dependents for employment - Inclusion of married daughter.
10	W.P(s) 5919/2021, Smt. Uma W/o Ajay Kumar Panika Vs. SECL & Ors. Chhattishgarh High Court	Scope & Coverage of the definition of dependents for employment - Inclusion of married daughter.

 After going through the contention of various courts, it is observed that the judiciary, having a lenient view in terms of gender equality and equal opportunity specially for feminine section, has passed the judgment in the respective cases in favour of the petitioners vehemently emphasizing therewith requirement to review the present rules/provisions in question with respect to the changing scenario within the circumferential domain of the definition of dependency, subsistence, impartiality and equality.

It is quite apparent that such affairs has overwhelmingly put the prevalent rules/provisions of NCWA on the verge of getting them appropriately modified in present perspective in consonance with the observations of the judiciary, which is the need of the hour too in order to clearly forecast the image of the management not being discriminatory or otherwise in any manner. The above state strongly advocates for a need to seek all possibilities to ponder over the prevailing scenarios and deliberations towards revisiting the provisions of NCWA to accommodate suitable modifications in line with the recent judgments passed to such effect, so as to strengthen the dealings of the management towards protecting the rights and interests of employees and other stakeholders.